558b154b1a3d8.imageSalmonella has been identified as a cause in at least 15 cases. All 127 people ate at Tarheel Q on U.S. 64 West in Lexington, in the days before falling ill, officials said.

Jordan Howse of the Winston-Salem Journal reports tonight that at least 127 people have been sickened, and at least 7 hospitalized, in an outbreak of Salmonella that officials believe may be linked to the Lexington Tarheel Q barbecue restaurant, officials with the North Carolina Division of Public Health said Thursday.

About two-thirds of the people affected are from Davidson and Davie counties, but officials said the outbreak spans seven counties and at least six states.

“In conjunction with other county and state health departments, we continue to identify and interview other ill people in an attempt to determine the scope of the outbreak and the source of the infection,” said Monecia Thomas, director of the Davidson County Health Department said.

Salmonella symptoms include diarrhea, stomach pain, fever, nausea and vomiting.